Treasurer Peter Costello has warned employers of a looming labour shortage if they don't fully utilise mature aged workers and urged the Senate to pass the Government's IR bills to provide the necessary workplace flexibility to accommodate the ageing workforce.
The AMWU has today been fined $2,000 for an "inadvertent error" that led to it coercing an employer to make an agreement, while the Interim Building Industry Taskforce has launched a new prosecution against the construction union.
Many Australian employees can't afford or are unaware of their right to take unpaid parental leave, new research has shown, adding fuel to the push for a federal scheme of paid maternity leave.
In a crucial pair of decisions handed down today, an AIRC full bench has ruled that employers can use AWAs to stop unions entering workplaces to hold discussions with employees, but can't use s170LK agreements to achieve the same end.
The AWU breached its enterprise deal with Bluescope Steel when it held a stopwork meeting and instructed workers to destroy metal products, at a cost to the company of more than $420,000, the NSW IRC has found.
IR system needs rethink to accommodate work and family, says Latham; $10 would be a real after-tax cut in the safety net, says Opposition; HR directors pocketing $200,000 to $400,000, plus incentives, says Humanagement; Worker compensated for psychiatric condition resulting from reasonable selection process; Older worker inquiry due to report to PM mid-year; and Warning on addressing the AIRC with hands in pockets.
Employers might face backpay claims after Queensland clerical award ruling; Queensland IRC bench to consider employer's bid for enterprise award based on enterprise agreement; and BHP Coal justified in standing down employees who refused to work after being identified as at high risk of injury.
In another example of NSW's unfair contracts law being used to resolve commercial disputes, the NSW Supreme Court has ordered Mitsubishi in Australia to pay the former managing director and minority shareholder in the Thrifty car rental company $1.046 million.
